Gov. Jerry Brown meets with the Bay Area News Group's editorial boards at the San Jose Mercury News in San Jose, Calif. on Sept. 11, 2012. The Governor visited the newspaper to talk about his tax-hike measure on November's ballot. (Gary Reyes/ Staff)

SACRAMENTO -- As Gov. Jerry Brown weighed hundreds of bills last month, he seemed to be auditioning for his November tax hike measure, vetoing proposed laws that could have hurt consumers' wallets and signing reforms to cut government spending.

While the Democratic governor spent plenty of time touting high-profile legislation to reform runaway government pensions, he also made a point of explaining that he was in no mood to financially burden Californians, even when they break the law.

Perhaps the best example was Assembly Bill 1657, which would have added $1 to traffic tickets to fund research for spinal cord injuries -- a modest increase for a worthwhile cause, proponents argued. But Brown vetoed the bill, citing the added costs -- just as he did in vetoing Senate Bill 1310, which would have raised fines on tickets for drivers using cellphones in a proposal supporters said would cut down on car accidents.

"Loading more and more costs on traffic tickets has been too easy a source of new revenue," Brown wrote in his message vetoing the spinal cord bill.

He also vetoed several bills that had the potential to add costs to the state, saying in one message denying a new transportation oversight official: "Let's use the resources we already have."

Brown, working through a Sunday deadline to decide on this year's proposed laws, signed 649 bills and vetoed 118 during September as polls show his top priority -- Proposition 30, the tax increase to balance the budget -- is hovering just above 50 percent support.

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"His year is make-or-break based on what happens with Proposition 30," said Bill Whalen, research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution and a former aide to Gov. Pete Wilson in the 1990s. "He has to drum up support from the base to get that initiative passed."

Even in endorsing a bill to build a privately funded statue of Ronald Reagan in the state Capitol, Brown lauded the legendary Republican governor and president for "raising California taxes when he saw they were needed."

If Brown's Proposition 30 passes on Nov. 6, the measure would raise $6 billion for the state's budget -- avoiding huge cuts to schools -- by raising the sales tax by a quarter of a cent and increasing income taxes on the rich.

Analysts said the governor needs to prove to voters that state leaders are financially responsible before voters will be willing to give them more tax money. Brown spent much of the month showcasing in public events bills that attempt to reform the state's pension and worker's compensation systems -- his top two legislative priorities this fall, his office said -- and cutting-edge efforts such as bills to allow driverless cars on the road and social issues like increasing women's access to birth control.

Brown's spokesman, Gil Duran, said while Brown was focused on protecting consumers and cutting down on government waste, that's something he's been committed to since campaigning in 2010 -- not just to curry favor with voters now.

"Some people see everything as about Prop. 30," Duran said. "I think the pattern is that he takes deep interest in the bills and makes his decisions based on his best judgment given the circumstances at hand."

During September, Brown vetoed 15 percent of the bills that came to his desk -- about double the average veto rate during his first two terms as governor from 1975 to 1983. But it's still far less than the 35 percent veto rate Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recorded in 2008.

The flurry of activity comes after Brown was widely criticized for signing a bill in August that authorized $8 billion to fund a high-speed rail system, which a majority of polled voters oppose largely because of its high cost. Brown has acknowledged the tension between spending money on the bullet train and trying to pass a tax hike, and opponents of Proposition 30 have highlighted the project's approval as a reason to vote against the measure.

State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, was among the few key Democrats to vote no on high-speed rail, largely because of the negative perception it would leave on Prop 30 voters. But overall, Simitian believes Brown was focused on the election as he considered the 767 bills that passed by his desk last month.

"Prop. 30 is clearly front in mind for the governor," Simitian said. "There's no question about it, he's focused on it."